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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a supermarket was launching a new beauty line that appeared akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of both items look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer affordable alternatives to high-end items. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue certain alternatives to high-end labels are good standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily better," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable beauty label is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a show about famous people.

Many of the products modeled on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry believes alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the experts also advise buyers do their research and say that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just paying for the name and marketing - often the elevated price also comes from the formula and their grade, the potency of the key component, the technology employed to develop the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's important considering how certain dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they might include less effective components that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends sticking to more specialised brands.

She explains these probably have been subjected to expensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the company advertises about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively use evidence completed by other companies, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up